A Sick Thanksgiving
by rachrites
Summary: Erica was sick of Sarah and Ethan making her do certain tasks with or for Benny due to their abandonment. And Benny was just sick, sick with the flu. Finding herself on another duty for her two friends, Erica agreed to keep Benny company, leading to the creation of cookies, video game sessions, and new relationships. Bennica and fluff.


**Before I begin, I would like to apologize for being one of those authors who just abandon stories after their first chapter. Although it was only the beginning of this year, I have to say that I cannot recall why I decided not to write anymore. Perhaps I was too busy or just not feeling the story, or there could have been other reasons that in the midst of all my personal chaos, has slipped my mind. Either way, I'm very sorry for those willing to follow my first words.**

 **Anyways, I'm back with another story that hopefully this time I will finish- or at least get far with! This is revolved around Thanksgiving (and this time I did it on time haha) and I hope you enjoy. Again, I don't exactly know where this story might go or how long it will be or what might come after, but I'm willing to find out and I hope you are too!**

 **Disclaimer - I do not own anything of MBAV, only this story.**

* * *

 **Erica's POV**

"Can you just check on him? Please?"

I groaned. "Fine, sure, whatever."

A satisfied squeal came from the other end, causing me to roll my eyes. "Thanks, Erica! I owe you one."

 _You owe me way more than just one_ , I thought.

Throwing a few things into a nearby backpack and grabbing my jacket, getting ready to head out to fulfill the new errand I was given, I sighed into my phone, "Yeah, you really do. Making me do your tasks just because you and Ethan constantly have spontaneous dates isn't cool, just sayin-"

Before I could finish Sarah hung up.

Growling, I shoved my phone in my pocket and swung on my backpack. I noisily stomped downstairs and in a matter of seconds after opening my front door I was already at Benny's.

 _I've seen this blue door way too many times this past month_ , I thought to myself as I rang the doorbell, automatically crossing my arms and clicking my boot on the pavement. All of these duties that I've been sent to do have been totally inadequate and majority of the time don't even have a clear purpose to be met. I've noticed how recently, Sarah and Ethan have been making me perform little tasks that force me to hang out with Benny, a few being driving him to school (which I thought was pretty insufficient as he can teleport just as easily as I can fly), being his partner in classes when Ethan decides to switch him with Sarah, and keeping him company at lunch when Sarah and Ethan decide to ditch us to make out somewhere.

I have no idea what I'm even doing at his house currently, waiting outside while the harsh breeze plays with my hair and paints a pink mural on my cheeks. My impatience is growing and my thoughts are becoming louder as Benny takes his time getting to the door. All Sarah ordered me to do was to "check on him". For what reason, I don't know. There could be a surprise party for me when the door opens, or a complete wreck of a house, or even a romantic dinner. None of those options make sense but at the same time are all possible, considering the circumstances.

I feel like it's becoming easier and easier for Sarah to convince me to go out and do things for her because I don't feel like dealing with her constant begging, and I'm afraid that she's realized that too. In the beginning, I would have been so stubborn, but tonight all it took were two times of her whining "please" and I'm already at Benny's doorstep.

My fist acting as a rest for my head and my foot no longer tapping, I was thinking of so much. Of this past month, of the frequent abandonment of Sarah and Ethan, of Benny. So much has ran through my head in the few minutes I've been standing out here that the cold didn't even affect me anymore, that my brain didn't process the noise of the door creaking open and the light pouring out into the darkness I've been engulfed in.

"Ethan?" a hoarse voice called out.

I looked up.

It was Benny. I mean, of course it was Benny, but it was Benny whose skin was paler than usual, other than the rosy flesh atop his nose, Benny who looked like he rolled out of bed three days ago and didn't bother fixing himself up, living in his pajamas and barely touching his hair, Benny whose eyes were closed as if opening them would be painful and one hand repeatedly roaming over his face as if that would make him look presentable.

"Wow," I murmured, lifting my head up more. "You look even more like a wreck than normal."

He gradually opened his eyes, and upon realization that I wasn't Ethan, he attempted to clear his throat, which led to unattractive hacking and doubling-over, trying to catch his breath.

My arm instantly reached out to rub his back, but he quickly gathered himself together, running a hand through his tangled mane. "Erica? What," he was squinting, as if this was the first time he had fully opened his eyes in hours, "what are you doing here?"

I shrugged and pursed my lips. "Dunno, really... I can leave if you want."

"No, no," he shook his head, "come on in."

I stepped inside as he hastily closed the door to stop the freezing weather from making its way inside. Shedding my jacket and throwing my backpack near his couch, I took in the sight of his house. Surprisingly, everything was clean, other than the couch, which he has been obviously living on these past few days. "How long have you been sick?" I asked, taking off my shoes and leaving them by the door, watching as Benny lazily made his way back to the couch.

"Ever since Grandma left to visit some friends, so for about two days," he replied, already burying himself back in a cozy mountain of blankets and pillows.

I nodded and knelt beside the sofa, where he quickly spread out on, his eyes shut. It looked like he already entered a state where he blocked out all other noises, like the past couple days of being ill has been enough time for him to perfect sleeping instantly. I pushed back a few of his hairs that fell onto his forehead and checked how his temperature was.

My touch immediately startled him as his eyes opened and he squeaked. "Calm down," I told him, retracting my hand from his sweltering skin.

"Sorry, I just... nevermind."

With great amounts of effort, Benny tried to lift himself up. Groaning, it was obvious that his body was too weak to do the job swiftly. I stood up and helped him, again surprising him and causing him to squeak. I giggled at the noise and sat next to the newly created space next to him.

"Sooo, uh, whaddya' want to do?"

He seemed to be dozing off but quickly turned his head to send me an accusing look.

"What?" I questioned.

"You show up to my house and expect _me_ to think of things we can do."

I looked around as if in deep thought, and then returned my gaze to Benny. "Well, yeah."

He sighed. "Oh my God, I'm going back to sleep," and with that he laid down on the sofa, bending his knees so that there was still space for me, yet finding it comfortable enough to nap promptly.

* * *

"What am I supposed to do with him?" I asked over the phone.

"What do you mean?" Sarah replied, confused.

Once again, I rolled my eyes despite Sarah being able to see and glanced at Benny, snuggled inside layers of blankets and cushions, snoring. "I mean, he's sleeping."

A gasp was audible from the other end before a faint voice, indicating Sarah moving the phone away from herself, spoke. "Ethan!"

I wiped my face, aggravated from how the one chance I get to speak to Sarah, she turns to Ethan.

"What?" another faint voice called out.

"Benny's sleeping!"

Astonished laughter was heard before Ethan said again, but this time with an amused tone, "What?"

"I know right," Sarah chuckled, her voice slowly returning to it's normal volume as she brought the phone closer.

"I don't see what's so funny," I muttered, trying to keep my voice down. Although I'm slightly annoyed that Benny's sleeping, he's still sick, and I should at least respect his need for rest.

"What's so funny is the fact that Benny would rather sleep than hang out with you. That boy must really not feel well."

I rolled my eyes for the hundredth time today. "I don't understa- you know what? Nevermind, you're no help."

"Wait, Erica, I'm sor-"

Before she could finish I hung up.

* * *

 **Benny's POV**

I woke up to the smell of cookies.

"Grandma?" I grunted as I tried to push myself into a sitting position, eyeing the perfect, tiny cookies with orange, yellow, and brown M&M's that were lying on the coffee table. The only person I knew who could make sweets that looked as savory and emenated a scent as amazing as those was my Grandma, surely it was her.

"Can you please get my name right at least once tonight? It's Erica. I'm Erica. Erica is the one here."

Slightly taken aback, I rubbed my eyes and turned around, finding her washing her hands in the kitchen. "Oh yeah, I forgot."

Erica voiced a sarcastic "hmph", before I added, "I mean, I didn't forget you- who could forget you? I just, I uh-"

She walked into the living room, wiping her hands on her black skinny jeans. "Save it. Just try the cookies."

I obliged, picking up one of the treats and inspecting it.

"Geez, do you not trust me _that_ much? It's not poisoned, I promise, so no need to frisk it."

I smirked as Erica took a seat next to me, breaking a piece off the end of my cookie for herself. "Hey! Get your own."

She grinned, "Benny, that entire plate is for you, calm yourself."

I glimpsed at the plate, that apparently, was entirely for me. "Really?"

She nodded. "Really," then she popped the little piece she took from me into her mouth. "Now eat it."

I took a bite out of the cookie. Never in my life have I tasted anything that was like this, the perfect combination of soft and hard, delicious and delectable, reminiscent of an overwhelming amount of emotions and-

"Do you like it?" Erica asked, studying me with newfound interest.

I nodded, knowing how much of a little kid I looked like, buzzing with excitement. I took another one from the plate, asking, "Did my Grandma leave these in the fridge and I just never noticed?"

Erica's face fell. "Can I get any credit here?"

My eyebrows knit together.

"The answers to both those questions are 'no'."

I looked at the cookie in my hand, "You made these?"

An adorable smile spread across her face as if this was the first time she was receiving recognition tonight, and she muttered a joyful "yup".

I stared at her. "You can bake?"

The corners of her mouth fell back into place. "Why's that surprising?" she asked, once again disappointed.

This time she was the one looking like a little kid, although, I have to admit, she pulled the look off much cuter than I did. The look of happiness and the quick switch to a captivating expression of displeasure made the warm sensation the cookies caused in my stomach to burst into a fire. Not only did her baking lift my mood, but her lovable emotions strewn across her face made laugh and overall feel better.

"I guess," I started, "I wouldn't expect a vampire to be _this good_ at baking, or even cooking in general, because, y'know, you don't really need to."

She looked at me.

"Because, y'know," I repeated, "you just... eat people." My voice became smaller, her silence making me feel like I said something wrong.

She lifted her elbow up and propped it on the back of the sofa, leaning her cheek on it. She shrugged, an entertained look plastered on her face, "I enjoy baking in my free time. Also, who says blood muffins aren't a thing?"

I gulped. "I hope that's not what you're making next."

She laughed, "Nah, the cookies were enough."

I grinned and pulled the blankets around myself even more, noticing how Erica was also getting comfortable in the mess of pillows and cloths. "So," she began, "I baked cookies, what else do you want to do?"

"You had enough time to bake a full batch of sweets but that wasn't enough time to think other of things to do?"

"I'm only capable of so much."

I rolled my eyes, my gaze focusing on the TV and the various consoles and games underneath it. "We could play some video games," I joked.

Pushing the sheets off herself, Erica made her way towards my collection, agreeing, "Ok, what do you have?"

I inhaled a sharp breath, causing me to break into another fit of coughing and wheezing. I groaned and cringed, realizing how much of a mess I was. I probably looked terrible to Erica, but she didn't show any signs of caring as she hastily made here way back to me, a hand already soothing my back. She offered a glass of water to me, which I thankfully accepted.

I recovered and apologized, Erica saying, "No need to say sorry."

Our eyes met as I replied, "You're just full of surprises today."

She straightened her posture from bending down to make sure I was okay and scoffed, "And that means...?"

"Coming to my aid, baking me cookies, wanting to play video games with me, that's not normal Erica," I responded, frowning and wrapping a few blankets around me again.

"Oh yeah?" she said, squatting down after walking back to my storage of games and examining what I had. "So, what is 'normal Erica'?"

With this question my mind took it and ran. It was like this question invaded my head everyday. The amount of times I thought about possible answers for this caused Ethan and Sarah to continuously quip about my ongoing crush, caused me to become obsessed and limerent over her and caused me to become even more awkward than I am, yet thankful that she's still my friend. This question made me want to just spill every thought I've had about her and all the emotions she's made me feel. This question brought me back into my mind from the sick state it was in but at the same time pushed me into an entirely different place.

"Normal Erica is the Erica who's- who's just-"

I was at a loss for words.

"Just, y'know, badass, cool, the person everyone knows and wants to get to know and stuff." I scratched my head and continued, despite not really knowing where this was going. "She's, like, the girl everyone talks about, the one you feel like you know everything about but in reality there's so much more _to_ know. She's just really awesome and interesting and fascinating and pretty..."

I winced, my words echoing in my ears. _What was I saying?_

"I mean, you are still all of that. Like, you are normal, badass, p-pretty Erica, but now you're also takes-care-of-the-ill, is-really-good-at-baking, video-game-loving Erica."

I looked up to see Erica turned around, a half bemused half delighted beam spread across her face. "You know what, it's the flu talking, forget I said any of that," I finished.

Her smile lowered. "Why? That was possibly the best compliment I have ever received."

Her comment made color rush back into my unwell, white, face. "Considering how every Valentines Day your locker is overflowing with notes from admirers, that was probably the best compliment I've ever received too."

She chuckled and returned to finding a game to play, an odd feeling pumping into my chest as my heart's beating went back to its normal rate.

She pulled out three games after a while of thinking and laid them out for me to choose from. " _Portal, Left 4 Dead, Borderlands._ You have good taste."

"Well, I'm full of surprises," she jested. "So, what will it be?"

I ran my hands over each game, remembering the fun they brought the several hours I spent on them. I was still enthusiastic about the fact that Erica was seriously going to play a game with me, and she picked three games that would be impossible for me to choose from. "I don't know."

A noise reminding me of soughing wind escaped her. "Ok, let's just play all of them."

 _What._

 _"What?_ Seriously?"

She looked at me with a lost expression. "We don't have to if you don't want t-"

I waved my arms in front of myself, implying a restart. "No, I mean yeah, that would be awesome!"

She grinned. "Let's do it."

Hours later we were tangled in the mess of blankets and pillows, eyes glued to the screen currently providing the only source of illumination, as we shut off all the lights. The series of games sparked riveting conversations, including arguments about which particular characters were better and changes we would make to plots and story structures. Each word that parted from Erica's lips made me realize how much she knew that I didn't, her love for games and comics and relevant info becoming more apparent. It was honestly amazing.

It felt like my sickness was wearing off the more I payed attention to her and just let myself feel comfortable.

An endearing giggle escaped her mouth as she slouched further into the sofa. "This is probably the cheesiest thing I'll ever say, but, I'm thankful for tonight. This is nice."

I raised an eyebrow and turned towards her.

Noticing my silence, she stopped playing and rested the controller on her knee. "What? It's Thanksgiving, I thought I could at least say one nice thing."

This time both eyebrows shot up. It was Thanksgiving already? How many days have I been sleeping?

I began counting on my fingers and scrunching my face, as if counting days required an impressive skill at math. "Oh my God, it's Thanksgiving!"

She stared at me, and then burst out laughing. I quickly joined in. "You didn't know it was Thanksgiving today? Did you not realize how the M&M's were Thanksgiving colors?" she asked, gesturing to the almost empty plate of cookies.

I waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can make fun of my denseness later. It's my turn to say what I'm thankful for."

She groaned. "Oh great, what did I start?"

I chuckled and directed my body towards her. I had no idea where this sudden urge to just open up to her and spill everything came from, but it was too late now. It was either I tell her how I feel or make myself look even worse by trying to make a smooth recovery and failing. Anyways, I already let it slip how I thought she looked "pretty" and was "badass", I might as well get this over with and see how she reacts. "It's tradition, saying what we're thankful for."

"Better not be sappy."

A warm feeling creeped up to my cheeks and it felt like I was sweating, but not because of the layers of sheets I was entangled in. The whole night my mind has been full of thoughts that I now wanted to express. It was most likely the flu that made me want to admit everything, as "normal Benny" would have no desire to open up this soon.

"Well," I began, "I'm thankful for a lot. Food, video games, magic."

She rolled her eyes but remained quiet.

I looked down at my hands and started lifting my fingers in coordination with my list. "My grandma, Ethan, Sarah, You..."

"...You and how you make me happy," I wanted to slap myself. This was exactly what she meant by "sappy". "How you're cool and ruined my life by making it better."

I didn't lift my head and I payed no attention to the absence of noise and movement beside me. It felt like I was alone, but somehow that thought made my words flow more easily. "I'm just thankful for your company and your personality and being able to know you and for just being there. Especially recently. I mean, I assume Sarah probably makes you hang out with me against your will but you've still opened up to me this past month and-"

I felt her hand on my shoulder. I looked up.

"-I'm thankful for that."

Her lips were spread in a smile that emitted such an inviting emotion, the quiteness between us creating sentiment I've never felt and I was debating if it was good or not.

Before I could apologize and blame my sickness for the nonesense that came out of my mouth once again, Erica rested her other hand behind my neck. My pulse began getting out of control and I'm sure she could feel it, but none of that mattered as my brain put together what she was doing.

 _But, what was I supposed to do? I didn't imagine this happening._

She was so close, the heat from our bodies combining and making me blush even more. Our lips were about to meet before I remembered that kissing probably wasn't the best idea at the moment, unfortunately.

I halted. "I'm sick," I muttered glumly.

She looked at me with her wide, green eyes and the same epxression she wore most of the night. "You're worth getting sick for."

And with that our lips collided and I swear something inside me exploded. My body was on fire as I brought her closer to me, feeling as if sparks were flowing from her flesh to mine. I no longer felt like I was living on this couch for two straight days. Every single line and word that has been used to describe kisses and that I have labeled "stupid" flew through my mind, as those were the only ways I could describe how I felt. All of those romance novels and films weren't exaggerating and I didn't care anymore.

She pulled away and our eyes met once again.

"I correct myself," she sighed, "that was probably the cheesiest thing I'll say tonight."

I laughed and pecked her on the lips, shocking both her and myself. "Thank you."


End file.
